Black-fronted Brushfinch

The black-fronted brushfinch is about 17 cm (6.7 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a black forehead ("front") and a rufous to orange crown and nape. Their face is mostly black with a faint dark slaty wash on the cheeks. Their upperparts are dark slaty gray and their wings and tail are slightly darker. The wing's outer primaries have thin white edges and all primaries have white bases. Their throat, breast, belly, and undertail coverts are yellow and the sides of the breast and flanks have an olive or grayish wash. They have a deep reddish brown iris, a black bill, and brownish to dusky gray legs and feet. Juveniles have an olive gray head with a grayish cheek and no rufous. Their upper- and underparts are like the adult's.

The black-fronted brushfinch is found only in the Serranía de Perijá, which straddles the border of northern Colombia and western Venezuela. It inhabits humid montane forest where it prefers shrubby edges and second growth forest and appears to tolerate disturbed habitats. In elevation it ranges between 1,100 and 2,200 m (3,600 and 7,200 ft) in Venezuela and between 1,400 and 2,500 m (4,600 and 8,200 ft) in Colombia.

The black-fronted brushfinch's diet and foraging behavior have not been described but are believed to be similar those of the yellow-breasted brushfinch, which see here.